December is the time of the year for lists and recaps and gay dating hookup app Grindr did just that. It tells us some semi interesting facts about typical or not queer destinations we (don’t) go to.

Why am I looking at ‘Grindr Unwrapped 2023‘ for Trip By Trip? While Danny is not a user, I am. And certainly when I’m travelling I like to at least look at the local fauna and flora. And I’m far from alone in doing that. Almost all of my LGBTQIA+ friends – I don’t talk sex with my straights friends so I wouldn’t know about them – go on dating and hookup apps when travelling.

“It was a big year for Grindr and there was plenty to be unwrapped. With more than 100 billion chats, 13 billion taps, and 1 billion private albums sent, Grindr users were getting busy. To create the ultimate gay year in review, the app compiled anonymous aggregated data from its global user base and surveyed its community on an array of hot topics and trends, including 2023’s biggest pop culture moments—from Beyoncé and Kylie to George Santos and the Met Gala Cockroach“, the app says in a press release. 

In addition to anonymous activity data from its 13 million monthly users, Grindr surveyed more than 10,000 users on their top pop culture moments of 2023—from the ultimate gay gasp to the biggest babygirl. The resulting report provides a deeper look into global behavioral trends and all the tea on current events in the pop culture landscape.

Some notable 2023 stats include:

• Most Active Day/Time: Sunday at 6 PM.
• Most Explored City: London, England.
• Country with the Highest Percentage of Tops: Trinidad and Tobago, followed by Kenya, China, Myanmar and Greece.
• Country with the Highest Percentage of Bottoms: South Korea, followed by Japan, Vietnam, Denmark and Finland. South Korea featured in the list of ‘top countries’ last year. So in 2023, Korean users tried something else.
• Highest Percentage of Feet Lovers: Italy, followed by Germany, the United Kingdom, France and the United States.
• Most Popular Emoji:  👀.
• ‘Gay Gasp’ and Best Drag Moment: Troye Sivan‘s ‘One of Your Girls‘ video.
• Top Album and Song Of The Year: Kylie Minogue‘s ‘Tension‘ and ‘Padam Padam‘ respectively

Tristan Pineiro, VP of Brand Marketing and Communications, says: “We are so excited to bring ‘Grindr Unwrapped’ back for another year. ‘Unwrapped’ is our way of celebrating our global user community and shedding some light on how, where, and what we loved in 2023. As a community we’ve always had our finger on the pulse of pop culture, and it’s always so much fun to see Grindr users’ hot takes on the year via ‘Unwrapped’.” 

Belgium and the Netherlands

Belgium and the Netherlands feature a few times in ‘Grindr Unwrapped’.The Netherlands and Belgium top the list of leather lovers, before Panama, Switzerland and the UK. One would expect Germany, but German leather guys perhaps use Recon or Romeo more often. 

Anyway, that’s good news for Darklands, Belgium’s annual international kink, fetish and leather gathering in Antwerp.

The Benelux countries also top the list of twinks, before Brazil, Switzerland and the UK. A phenomenon which is also visible at Mister Gay contests. The Low Countries tend to go for more twinkish types. 

After France, Canada, the UK and Brazil, Belgium is the fifth geekiest.

Go to … for …

Gay sex is often associated with anal intercourse, but many men who have sex with men (MSM) don’t have anal sex. And even people who do, don’t do that every time they have sex. MSM who don’t have anal sex are called side. Singapore, the Philippines, China, Kenya and New Zealand have the most sides. 

Finland is versatile. Maybe because the next gay is far away and you shouldn’t be picky. Followed by Austria, Germany, Australia and Hungary.

Germany, France, Brazil, Morocco and the UK love armpits.

Puppy play is a Latin affair. Venezuela, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Colombia and Mexico love the #Pup. For bears, go to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates and Greece.

The UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Ireland love vanilla sex. Good Anglo-Saxon boys. 

Dad heaven is in the US, Nigeria, Australia, Venezuela and Canada.

South Korea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Malaysia are the most open about open relationships.

In Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, India and Italy NSFW pictures are not so welcome as in the US, Canada, Finland, Australia and Norway.

In Kuwait, Portugal, Qatar, Ireland and Greece Grindr users are eager to share a private album. 

The most explored cities through the app’s ‘Explore’ feature include London, Paris, Mexico City, Bogotá, and Manchester. The most active cities for app usage are Thessaloniki, Milan, Rome, Turin, and Berlin.

Pop culture

As in 2022, ‘Heartstopper‘ was named Show of the Year, while Greta Gerwig‘s ‘Barbie‘ was voted Movie of the Year. ‘Red, White & Royal Blue‘ came in second.

Biggest IJBOL or ‘I just burst out laughing’ of the Year was Jennifer Coolidge as pleading for her life with “These gays, they’re trying to murder me” in ‘The White Lotus‘. ‘Gimme One Margarita, I’ma Open My Legs‘ came in at number two, Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka at number three.

Biggest Babygirl of the Year, whatever that means, was deemed to be Harry Styles. Followed in second by Pedro Pascal, and third by Jacob Elordi.

Beyoncé was voted Mother of the Year. Former ‘Superman‘ superman Henry Cavill was deemed Hottest Man of the Year. Lil Nas X came second. While Kim Petras winning a Grammy was named as the biggest LGBTQIA+ win of the year. 

Queer human rights

• REPORT | More LGBT and gender-diverse people were arrested and prosecuted in 2023.
• UPDATE | 66 countries where gay sex is illegal.
• 13 US states still officially punish gay sex.
• How gay friendly are trending travel destinations Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine?.
• European Union and 15 Member States challenge Hungary’s gay propaganda ban in court.
• SPARTACUS GAY TRAVEL INDEX 2023 | Belgium 17th most gay travel friendly country; Malta on 1, Canada and Switzerland share 2nd.
• 1 in 3 LGBTQIA+ people in Flanders and Brussels experienced physical aggression in the past two years.
• FLANDERS | LGBTQIA+ people more often unhappy, bullied and misjudged.
• ILGA-EUROPE | 2022 deadliest rise in homophobic and transphobic violence in over a decade.
• EXHIBITION | ‘Homosexuals and Lesbians in Nazi Europe’, Kazerne Dossin, Mechelen.
• 71 (68) countries where gay sex is illegal.
• RAINBOW EUROPE MAP AND INDEX 2022 | These are the LGBTQIA-friendly and LGBTQIA-unfriendly countries in Europe.
• RAINBOW EUROPE MAP AND INDEX 2021 | These are the LGBTQI-friendly and LGBTQI-unfriendly countries in Europe.
• RAINBOW EUROPE MAP AND INDEX 2020 | These are the LGBT-friendly and LGBT-unfriendly countries in Europe.
• Political and governmental homophobia and transphobia in Europe not necessarily backed by public opinion.
• COVID-19 and Anti-LGBTQI initiatives make queer life harder in Europe.
• To be or not to be out and proud LGBTQ when travelling?.
• Are you travelling to a hostile destination?.
• ILGA-Europe: COVID-19 affected LGBTI people’s human rights heavily.
• European Union declared ‘LGBTIQ Freedom Zone’ as Belgium mourns murdered gay man.
• Travel guide for people with HIV.
• European Union declared ‘LGBTIQ Freedom Zone’ but reality is quite different.
• A plea for LGBTQ travel in post-communist Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
• Queer in a hostile world: more likely to be arrested for looking gay than for actual homosexual acts.